LAS CRUCES - It's not the typical matchup one's accustomed to between a No. 5 and No. 12 seed in the State Football Championships.

Not when Mayfield (the fifth-seeded team) hosts Manzano (No. 12) at the Field of Dreams on Friday at 7 p.m.

Of course the Trojans will have certain advantages at kickoff - namely the security of playing on their homefield against the Monarchs from Albuquerque.

And Mayfield did win an early-season contest between the two teams - a 20-14 victory on Sept. 21 in Las Cruces.

But there are some scary elements to the matchup as well, one being Manzano having some athletes, while knowing it can play competitive football in Las Cruces. All in all, and Friday's contest won't be a given for the home team.

"I expect a hard-hitting, hard-fought game," Trojans head coach Michael Bradley said. "We've got to run the football and we've got to pass the ball better, consistently. We were 26 percent passing in that game before .... We're going to have to play to a higher level, definitely."

In a wild and wacky year in Class 5A football, the Monarchs are likely better than the typical 12 seed fans and followers are used to seeing. This season has witnessed great parity within the classification, a wide-open playing field on a week-to-week basis.

Such has been encompassed in Manzano's ranking of 12, Eldorado at 11 and Mayfield at five: The Trojans beat the Monarchs in Las Cruces earlier this year, while losing at Eldorado. Meanwhile, Mayfield topped No.

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9-seed Volcano Vista 34-24 in early October, a team that managed to beat Eldorado 39-34 just two weeks prior.

"It's weird this year, having the different upsets every week," said Trojans tight end Catlin Keeler. "There's no such thing as a 12th seed this year. Whoever has that game that night, they're going to win."

The general hope over the course of a football season is that teams will get better, and in Mayfield's case it could very well be true. While the Trojans looked fairly ordinary for much of the year, the last month of play has seen consecutive blowout wins over Oñate and Alamogordo, before an emotional 36-13 loss to city rival Las Cruces High last weekend.

"That game was the third or fourth game of the year. They've improved, we've improved," Bradley said of his team's previous meeting with the Monarchs. "I think it's going to be a fantastic matchup, really."

Of historical note: The Trojans have beaten Manzano two-straight years in the state playoffs, including for the 2010 New Mexico title.

As far as this year's game is concerned, it's one between two teams that met earlier this year in a competitive contest. On their homefield, if the Trojans can avoid self-inflicted errors, their chances of winning remain solid in Round 1 of the State Football Championships.

"I think every good team makes adjustments the second time around," said Trojans running back/defensive back Marcus Inglemon. "It's just a matter of who's going to come out harder. Adjustments, I guess they help you out. But it's not going to win you a game unless you perform."

Teddy Feinberg can be reached at (575) 541-5455. Follow him on Twitter @TeddyFeinberg

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